The Weekly Splashhttps://gsuwellness.wordpress.com
Be Well. Do Well. - Weekly word from University WellnessTue, 15 Aug 2017 16:09:41 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://gsuwellness.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/cropped-622236_10151248958493674_1703152277_o1.png?w=32The Weekly Splashhttps://gsuwellness.wordpress.com
3232Succeed in the New Semester!https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/succeed-in-the-new-semester/
https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/succeed-in-the-new-semester/#respondTue, 15 Aug 2017 16:06:07 +0000http://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/?p=5110]]>Here we are again at the start of a new semester! We’re here to help you succeed!

Start with goals; SMART goals

Many of us have already heard about this handy acronym in our FYE courses, but it’s certainly an acronym worth repeating since these steps are extremely helpful in making semester goals more realistic. Click here for an in-depth explanation of SMART goals.

Studying Tips

Make study buddies in each class: study groups are great for going over flashcards together, helping each other understand concepts, working on group projects, giving yourselves accountability, or even just having someone to suffer with.

Read material before lecture: instead of getting lost in lecture, review general concepts and vocabulary by reading textbooks before attending lecture. This way, it’s easier to focus on the what the professor is saying rather than

Use all the provided resources: In addition to using textbooks as pre-lecture prep, utilize other commonly-present textbook features like review questions and chapter summaries. Generally, if you read the chapter, listen in lecture, and are able to answer review questions and understand the summaries, you’re likely more prepared for future tests – meaning you’ll have less stressful cramming to do later.

Study with frequent, quality breaks: Don’t let your brain become a wall against all of the precious knowledge you’re working so hard to take in! Take frequent breaks while studying to keep your brain fresh. What qualifies as ‘frequent’ depends largely on your attention span; this could mean a 5 minute break every 10 minutes, every 20, every 30, or even every hour. Make breaks quality by getting your brain and blood going; stand up, move around, and do something mentally engaging and that you generally enjoy (like studying for something easier, watching a short video from your favorite YouTube channel, writing, drawing, or whatever else you might enjoy).

Just do it!: Getting started is one of the most simple steps in studying, but is also one of the hardest. Instead of forcing yourself (or trying to force yourself) into studying, try just visualizing yourself studying and then let yourself slip into it before you really realize what you’re doing.

Go little by little: There’s a lot of material to be covered in college courses. As a result, they are often fast-paced, which can be overwhelming. In order to keep cool, focus on going bit by bit. Don’t think about having to read 40 pages for a class; just read one page, and then one more, and so on. Break big tasks down into smaller, less stressful ones!

Use campus resources: If you’re struggling, never forget that you can always talk with your professors for additional help or visit the tutoring center!

Time Management

Time management is one of the hardest parts about studying. We recommend using apps to block online distractions if they feel too alluring. Creating a study schedule (studying specific hours and relaxing specific hours) can also increase productivity, focus, and time management.

Health > GPA

Never forget: you have to be well to do well! As consuming school can be, don’t let it become more important than your mental or physical health. You and your health are worth so much more than grades. You can always re-take a class or make up for bad grades, but you don’t get a new body or mind, so take care of it. Always feel free to use campus resources like the counseling center or Worry-Free Wednesdays (held on the last Wednesday of every month in the Russel Union). As you go through your hectic schedule try to:

Do something fun everyday: Even if it’s small, like playing with a dog or watching a funny video – take out time to enjoy and replenish yourself.

Practice gratitude: most research shows that people who are grateful for even the small things in their lives are significantly happier and less stressed than pessimistic peers. Find joy in the small things!

Get stress out by working out: Exercise releases feel-good hormones that will naturally reduce your stress levels. In addition, the improved blood flow that results from exercise can have positive effects on mental function. The same goes for proper nutrition.

There are two main issues augmented by food waste: environmental degradation and hunger.

In the U.S., we can produce a cornucopia of food, but not without cost. Agriculture involves clearing land (contributing to deforestation and destruction of biodiversity), use of water (contributing to 80% of water usage – sometimes depleting water reserves), fertilization (which can often lead toacidification and pollution), and harvest/transportation (a journey that’s typically 15,000 miles). Of course, agriculture is completely necessary, but there’s a question of whether or not all of our risky activity is being properly placed.

Despite the great effort that we put into agriculture, we still have a national hunger problem. 42 million (about 1 out of every 8) Americans (13 million of which are children, 5+ million of which are seniors) face food insecurity.

Yet, Americans toss away around 40% of the environment-taxing food we produce. This is the problem with food waste; our current food system leaves people underfed while creating almost twice as much stress on the environment as necessary.

Why Does It Happen?

The solution seems just as simple as the problem is ridiculous: stop throwing away the food we make and put it to good use. In spite of the simplicity of the solution, the problem remains. What reasons do producers and consumers have for continuing to toss massive amounts of precious food?

In the Industry

Businesses (farmers, distributors, and stores) often waste because there’s a lack of profit to be made from the items they throw away. It’s common for farmers to throw away ‘ugly’ produce before it even leaves the field because the farmers know it won’t sell. Distributors and stores may feel the same. Stores may be especially picky about the cosmetics of the items or nearness of ‘best-by’ dates – dates which generally indicate how quality a food item is, not how edible it is (learn more here). When food is leftover, it’s often cheaper for business to throw it away than to distribute it to those in need.

Our waste, as consumers, is normally pure waste – good food that not used, but thrown in the garbage. Percentage-wise, more waste is caused by consumers than any other single step in the timeline of food production. The NRDC estimates that $1,350 – $2,275 worth of consumer-purchased food is tossed each year. That’s almost the amount of a semester’s tuition at GSU simply put out in the bin.

If you’re think that this huge amount of waste doesn’t apply to you since you’re careful about your food waste, you might be mistaken. Studies done by Johns Hopkins and Ohio State showed that most people (70-85%) thought they wasted less than others (even if that wasn’t the case).

If it costs us so much, why are we wasting it?

We’re busy. We don’t plan our meals, we hurriedly buy food that we may not eat, and we sometimes forget about foods we’ve already purchased.

We don’t value food enough after we buy it. A study showed that people would feel more upset about dropping a carton of eggs than if the eggs went bad after being forgotten in the fridge.

In the end, it’s all a matter of habit. We toss out leftovers we don’t want to eat, we place things in the back of the fridge or pantry until we’ve forgotten about them, we fail to make tasty dishes with our food (so we toss the dish rather than suffer the misfortune of our own cooking), or sometimes we simply decide we don’t want the food we’ve purchase.

How Can We Stop It?

While we can’t directly change the actions of businesses, we can certainly encourage it. Buy ugly produce. Voice your concerns to your local grocer. Create (or support a pre-existing) food recovery service. Basically, make it worth it for the food industry to reduce it’s waste.

As individuals we can be sure to plan our meals and only buy what we need. Furthermore, we can make sure we use what we buy. There’s tons of ways to use food that we would usually toss: composting leftovers for a personal garden (even in an apartment), making a gardenout of food leftovers, or usingwaste-reducing recipes.

Learn More

We’ve drawn from multiple sources to write this article. If you’d like to use our sources as leads, go ahead! Here is everything we referenced in this article (minus what’s already linked throughout the article):

A fad diet is a diet that idealizes rapid weight loss through what is usually and unhealthy and unbalanced diet, targeted at people who want to lose substantial amounts of weight in a small time-frame. Most fad diets claim that you are losing fat, but in reality, water weight (or even muscle) is lost. Once the fad diet is stopped, the dieter tends to gain weight back from rebuilding of protein stores and the body begins to store water again, which leads to weight gain and a cycle of yo-yo dieting that may lead a person into a physically and mentally unhealthy cycle of unsuccessful fad diet after unsuccessful fad diet. In other words, fad diets are a good way to lose weight. Weight loss is a journey, that occurs over time – about 250-500 calories per day to safely lose ½ lb to 1 pound per week. Gradual changes in habits (versus sudden, extreme ones) produces safe, healthy, long-term weight loss.

Signs of a Fad Diet

-Promises rapid weight loss (>1 pound/week)

-Contains miracle foods-Very restrictive in what you can/cannot eat and what times of the day you can eat.

– Missing a health warning (this is especially important for those with insulin-dependent diabetes)

-Advertises “ physical activity not needed” (as discussed, physical activity is an integral component of a diet/weight-loss plan)Popular fad diets to be wary of include: detox/juicing, low-carbohydrate/high-protein,gluten-free, and paleo diets

In Conclusion

In summary, Eagles, fad diets are bad diets. All of our bodies deserve to be treated with care. Our bodies are our homes; we’ll never get a different body so wee need to love and respect the ones we have. By all means, make whatever adjustments to your diet that will help your body be healthier, but do it for your body in a way that helps your body. You don’t need to go on a crash diet to look ‘good’ for a specific event or person or anything else. You’re already stunning and your body’s a miracle. If weight loss is necessary for you health (as told to you by a medical professional), go for it, but do it healthily and for your health.

Food is an essential to human survival. Food provides the body with needed energy to carry out life-sustaining activities. Our bodies use energy to sleep, digest, think/learn, exercise, and perform any day-to-day activities. To work as a strong unit, the body needs a mix of food, water, and sleep. Without the proper intake of energy, the body is incapable of performing even the most basic functions, such as absorbing energy or producing heat . If we don’t give our body the right amount/type of nutrients, our health will decline. Without balancing how much we take in and how much we expend (a concept known as energy balance), we can end up losing muscle and fat, storing extra energy as fat, or being nutritionally deficient – any one of these can lead to chronic diseases, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and other problems. That said, it’s extremely important that we get the right amount and type of energy. Our bodies run on multiple types of fuel, all of which are important. Here’s more about each type of nutrient:

The Fuel Our Bodies Run On

Food can be broken down into three main groups ofmacronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Intake of each subgroup is important for overall health and proper bodily function. Each group provides the body with fuel in unique ways. At rest and during normal activities, fats contribute 80-90% of our energy; carbohydrates provide 5-18% and protein about 2-5% of energy needs.

Carbohydrates

How much? Carbohydrate intake should be a range of 45-65% of total calories, varying depending on our activity levels.

Use: When carbohydrates are ingested, they are stored in the body as glycogen. There are multiple types of carb stores in the body that act as energy sources within the body. Stored glycogen (carbohydrate fuel stores) is used as a preferred fuel source in sporting activities.

Fun fact: If you hear someone saying they are “carbo-loading”, this means they are building up their internal carbohydrate stores for strenuous exercise (exercise that lasts more than an hour). This is something athletes might do for running, swimming and/or biking to provide themself with long-lasting energy during exhausting exercise. Even though carbs are often viewed negatively, they’re quite important.

Fat:

How much? Fat intake should be around 20-35% of total calories.

Use: Fat is very crucial for our diets. Fat provides the body with energy, insulation, and protection. Our bodies use fat as energy for majority of activities we do during the day.

Extra details: Fat can be divided into saturated and unsaturated fat. Saturated fats are normally solid at room temperature and come from meat, dairy, and some plant sources (such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oils). High intake of saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels and increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and comorbidities such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome. However, saturated fats aren’t completely harmful; they also help keep rigidity in blood vessels. Saturated fats are simply the kind of thing that is not meant to be over or under done. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and come primarily from plant foods such as nuts and seeds.Unsaturated fats aren’t so closely related to cardiovascular disease, so they’re consider a heart-healthy fat. Fat should never be excluded from the diet. When consuming fat, look for unsaturated sources or healthy fats such as cooking with olive oil and canola oil instead of butter or crisco. Nuts, seeds and avocados all contain healthy fats as well.

Protein

How much?Our protein intake should be between range of 10-35% of total calories. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight; this is the generally accepted amount that is required for all of the processes that protein is used in. Consuming very high amounts of protein (more than 1.5 g per kilogram of body weight) can lead to kidney damage. Protein needs are increased for persons who are very active, fighting diseases and/or those are injured.

Use: Protein has a wide variety of purposes within the body. It assists with key functions in the body such as repair/maintenance, energy creation, hormone/enzyme synthesis, and immunity.

Fun facts: Protein can be obtained through a variety of sources. Meat is a common protein source, but high-quality protein can be obtained through plant foods as well. Sources of protein include lean meats, plants, dairy, and dietary supplements. However we source our protein sources, they should be low in saturated fats and processed carbohydrates. Keep in mind that it’s best to consume protein in smaller amount throughout the day then all at once at the end of the day.

For Further Information…

If you have further questions on the correct intakes of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, please contact a Registered Dietitian or check out these reliable online resources.

‘Growth mindset’ is a psychological view, specifically developed for education by Dr. Carol Dweck; it’s the belief that one can grow to have new abilities, so long as they use strategies that work for them and put in sufficient effort. This contrasts with a ‘fixed’ mindset which says that a person is simply always going to be the same way. This theory was developed specifically for education, but can be applied throughout our lives.

To illustrate: imagine you’d like to be an doctor, but you know nothing about anatomy and you’re terrible and memorizing things – from where you stand, a career as a doctor doesn’t seem very likely. A growth mindset would say that you could eventually learn anatomy and you could even become good at memorizing things (under the right circumstances). A fixed mindset says “tough luck, find another career”.

If you were to choose the fixed mindset, you probably wouldn’t make any attempts to improve your skills and your dream would die. Why try to change what you can’t, after all? However, there’s hope with a growth mindset.

In a growth mindset, you are capable of anything you want to be capable of. No matter where you stand you will, eventually, get to where you want to be. So, in the case of becoming a doctor, you might just have a shot at fulfilling your dreams.

Having a Growth Mindset

There are a few common themes throughout discussions of the growth mindset:

Change is possible

A good method is necessary

Effort is important

The truth is important

Mistakes are a part of the process.

Change is Possible – The Power of “Yet”

When we look to change something about ourselves or learn something new, we likely already know that we currently aren’t where we want to be. We can truthfully say “I can’t” about any new skill we hope to acquire because we don’t have the ability to perform that skill at this point in time. However, when we have a growth mindset, there’s more to the statement. Adding ‘yet’ to the end of sentence changes the meaning behind the word. We may not be able to now, but that doesn’t mean we’ll never be able to. When faced with something that feels impossible, try adding ‘yet’ to the end of the statement to see how it changes.

A Good Method is Necessary

Make no mistake that effort is important, but it’s important to acknowledge that it isn’t everything. Have an effective approach to a problem that works specifically for you is extremely important, and, without it, any amount of effort can end up squandered. Sometimes having to re-think our strategy can feel like a failure – like we just didn’t try hard enough at the previous strategy. It can especially feel like this when the method that doesn’t work for us works for a bunch of other people, but there’s really no shame in trying something different and new. Part of having a growth mindset is being willing to try new things. In fact, one might even say that a growth mindset is insisting on trying new things until we find what works best for us and our goals. Let’s get into an example.

Learn to Work with Failure

No one starts out perfectly skilled. Wanna see Salvador Dali’s first painting? Looks like the type of finger painting we all might’ve done as kids (maybe with a slightly better color palette). It probably looks like a kid’s painting because Dali was around 6 when he painted this. That’s where he started out, about the same as us, yet he eventually made detailed works of art.

Being good at something (anything) isn’t inherent. If we treat learning in such a way, we’ll never grow. As the growth mindset was researched, it was found that children whose mistakes were treated as ‘problematic or harmful’ ended up developed a fixed mindset about themselves – in other words, they didn’t grow as much.

Failure is a part of the process of learning to be great at something. As we try new things, we need to be accepting (not scornful) towards the many times when new things won’t work.

Happy4thofJuly,Eagles!

We’re here to share the basics of firework safety, Georgia firework laws, and (if you’re not planning to host your own show), finding a show near you! We hope that you take these into guidelines into mind so, y’know, your 4th doesn’t blow. Anyway… into the tips.

GA Firework Laws

What kind of fireworks? Recently, the types of fireworks allowed in Georgia have changed a good bit. Look here for a list of fireworks that are legal to purchase in Georgia (note that M-80s and halfsticks are not among these). However, knowing what to purchase isn’t the only important aspect of Georgia firework legality. There’s also the who and the when.

Only have sober adults light fire works (in other words, don’t light while lit)

Don’t hang around a firework once it’s been lit. As soon as the fuse starts burning, quickly move to a safe viewing location.

If your firework is a dud, don’t approach it or try to relight it. Wait 20 minutes and then douse it with water. Use the same procedure post-show for all fireworks (including ones that went off successfully)

Only light one firework at a time.

Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby in case you need it.

Bonus: Pet Safety! Keep in mind that pets generally have ears that are much more sound-sensitive than humans. Be considerate and don’t bring your pets to displays!

To start, let’s look at some of the top reasons for death among U.S. citizens.

Heart disease

Cancer

Chronic respiratory disease

Unintentional injuries

Stroke

Alzheimer’s

Diabetes

Flu/pneumonia

Kidney disease

Suicide

While thinking about any of these is not a particularly cheery activity, there is a silver lining in most of these: the risks of most of these can be reduced through lifestyle choices. Exercise, especially, is a great way to reduce several of these.

However, chronic disease reduction is not the only benefit of long term exercises. By being regularly active, we can improve the quality of life that we’ll have when we’re older. Not only will we be less likely to be confronted with life-endangering (or even life-ending) illness, we can be more functional and happy.

First, let’s get into the amazing disease-prevention aspect of exercise. Then we’ll go over the life-improving aspects of exercise.

Disease Prevention

Heart Disease & Stroke

When working out, we facilitate good cholesterol and lower unhealthy triglycerides in our bodies, which certainly helps heart health. In addition, the heart rate-increasing nature of exercise makes the heart itself stronger. The heart is an extremely unique muscle so, like the muscles that make up our arms and legs, it becomes stronger with more training/use. When our hearts are hearty, they can more efficiently push blood through the body with the same (or even less) effort as a weaker heart. This keeps the heart from being easily overworked. Activity also helps immensely with regulating blood flow. Good circulation clears out arteries (lowering stroke risks) and promotes healthy tissues all throughout the body.

Cancer

Studies have shown that those who are regularly active have 7-38% less of a chance to develop certain cancers (depending on the cancer). While we don’t necessarily have a solid enough understanding of cancer to say exactly how it works, we do have a general clue that exercising is good for reducing cancer risks. In the words of Dr. Anthony Komaroff of Havard Health, “…it makes sense: regular exercise leads to changes in the body (like less inflammation, better immune function, and higher levels of natural antioxidants) that reduce the risk of cancer.”

Alzheimer’s

Although Alzheimer’s itself is not normally a disease that is a direct cause of death, it can lead to a multitude of complications that cause death. Alzheimer’s is, put in extremely simple terms, a degradation of neural connections. Exercise, however, seems to build brain connections. In addition, exercise triggers many beneficial brain chemicals that could potentially protect the brain from some of the factors that contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, a study reported that those who walk and exercise regularly around 3 times/week had a 40% lower rate of dementia (which is technically a separate disease from Alzheimer’s).

Diabetes

Engaging in regular physical activity makes your body more sensitive to insulin. For diabetics this can mean a blood sugar level that is more easily lowered, making diabetes slightly easier to manage or even reducing overall risk for developing type 2 diabetes in the first place.

Quality of Life

Our bones, joints, and muscles are slowly reduced over the years we live. Because of the natural deterioration of these important tissues we might start to experience problems with trying to use them. However, if we build them up to be nice and strong while we’re young, the effects of deterioration won’t be as severe.

Back pain

Our backs are such an integral part of every type of movement that we do on a daily basis. Wouldn’t it be terrible to have such a significant function limited by pain? To keep back pain at bay use low-impact aerobics to improve the strength, endurance, and function. By training our abs and back (our core), the symptoms of a weak back aren’t as likely to plague our aging bodies.

Arthritis

There are many, many types of arthritis that come from many sources – so many that it would probably be senseless to try to cover all of them within this blog post. Therefore, we will be talking about arthritis very generally and leaning more towards prevention of osteopathic (which is a type of arthritis that is mostly caused by the breakdown of the tissues that make up joints and their surrounding bones).

The first thing that exercise can do to decrease risk of arthritis is weight maintenance. There are certain parts of our bodies, like muscles, that create weight, but also provide support for themselves and keep some pressure off of joints. There are also parts of our bodies, like fat, that may not provide any additional support and only put a more intense load onto our joints. With regular exercise, we’re likely to have our weight more comprised of helpful muscle rather than fat that isn’t apart of our essential fat and only creates additional weight.

In addition, exercise breaks and rebuilds our bones to be stronger in a very similar way that it breaks and rebuilds our muscles to be stronger than before. Basically, our brains will send bone-building chemicals/cells to areas that they notice are being stressed. So, through the micro-tears that occur with activities like running or weightlifting, our brains decide to build up the various bones of our body. This is good for fighting aging because, at a certain point, our bones will start breaking down. This will happen to all people, no matter how strong of a health regime they’ve kept. However, the bone we have when our bones start to weaken is the bone we will have throughout the weakening process. In short, we can build more bone now and then, when our bones are diminishing, we’ll have more to keep in store. It’s like knowing that at some point we’ll lose a bunch of money – say $2,000. If we prepare for that loss and we save up way more than we need (say $10,000), then we’ll still have a good amount of money to continue living comfortable with. But, if we don’t save up our money very much (aka if we don’t build up our bone strength) and we only have $2,005, then we might be sort of strapped for cash and might suffer because of that.

Balance

When an elderly person falls, it’s much more parlous than when a younger person falls. This is because of how weak elderly bones becomes. We can reduce the likelihood our elderly bones breaking by building them up (as mentioned above), but what if we could also decrease the likelihood of falling in the first place?

Balance is a wonderful long-term benefit of exercise. The CDC says more than 1 out of 4 older adults fall each year. With the musculature and sense of balance that can result from continual exercise, we’ll be able to avoid small missteps that could leading to devastating falls. A particularly good way to increase balance is by practicing yoga on a regular basis.

Reaping the Benefits

So, how much do we have to exercise in order to keep ourselves healthy and happy long-term? There are quite a few different estimates. As stated above, just walking can be extremely beneficial. Others say that you need to be physically active (not necessarily in the gym, but with elevated heart rate) for at least two and half hours per week to be truly healthy. Different sources are here and here for you to use to decide what would be best for you. Regardless of the specifics of any recommendation, it’s most important to keep in mind that some is better than none. Health is not an all or nothing game.

Dog gif credit goes to Jason Clarke

]]>https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/keep-it-up-long-term-benefits-of-exercise/feed/0tumblr_mx0axo6iMi1qhl91yo1_1280gsuwellness611083952giphy (5).gifWhy You Should Exercise NOW: Short-Term Benefits of Physical Activityhttps://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/why-you-should-exercise-now-short-term-benefits-of-physical-activity/
https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/why-you-should-exercise-now-short-term-benefits-of-physical-activity/#respondTue, 20 Jun 2017 16:29:30 +0000http://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/?p=4233]]>Sometimes exercise can start to feel like huge commitment. Goals like “be stronger”, “lose weight”, “learn a new skill”, and such others are great, common goals, but they take time! Goals like this might not carry heavy weight compared to all the other things packed into our daily routine. After all, is training for next year’s annual Chocolate 5K really a priority when it’s lined up next to a test on Tuesday or grocery shopping that has to be done tonight? More often than not, the answer is ‘nope’.

But what about studying easier? Feeling happier? Having more energy? Sleeping better? Those are all goals that can line up with any day’s needs and can be achieved instantly by working out now! While long-term goals may not be enough for day-to-day motivation, there are a lot of benefits that we can immediately get from exercising. Let’s check some of them out!

Better Brains!

A study showed that people who worked out at with moderate intensity for 15 minutes ended up having faster reactions in post-workout memory games than in their pre-workout baselines.

It should be noted that this is a study based on moderate-intensity exercise. Going super hard at the gym will likely result in fatigue, which will have the opposite effect. Everything in moderation!

Lifted Mood

When you workout, your brain will release a group of hormones – called endorphins – that are associated with happiness. It’s the same good stuff gets released when eating chocolate (or any other delicious food), laughing, or having sex.

This study had college students jog at a moderate pace for 20 minutes and found that this was enough to elevate the students’ mood. In addition, this study found that exercise boosted self-esteem in young people – likely because they were able to achieve a small goal.

To max-out the mood-boosting benefits of exercise, try listening to your favorite music. Or, most importantly, try to genuinely enjoy the workout. Focus on the fun, take on the challenge, or distract yourself with media to stay positive all the way through!

Lookin’ Good

Get that ‘healthy glow’ by being healthy! As we workout, our blood flow increases. This has a ton of health benefits, but it also makes our skin look pretty happenin’. As blood rushes all throughout the body it brings oxygen and other nutrients to your skin cells, allowing your skin to be fresh and well-nourished!

Quality ZZZs

Another study looked at how well people who spent 20+ minutes exercising slept. 65% of participants said they felt they slept better. Working out can lead to a deeper, more restful sleep and who doesn’t want better sleep?

As much good as a quick workout would do for your sleep, be sure not to do it too close to your bedtime since exercise directly before sleep may causes some interference.

We encourage all of our Eagles to keep working steadily towards their long-term fitness goals, but we also hope that you find a reason to be active TODAY!

Be well, do well!

– University Wellness

]]>https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/why-you-should-exercise-now-short-term-benefits-of-physical-activity/feed/0gsuwellnessGoals to Get Fit!https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/goals-to-get-fit/
https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/goals-to-get-fit/#respondTue, 13 Jun 2017 15:48:13 +0000http://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/?p=1357]]>It’s summer – a great time to get in shape! The sun is out, the days are long, and you don’t have the wintery problem of having to transition between wearing 18,000 layers pre-workout to a single layer while working out. But, what does getting in shape look like for you? Setting fitness goals can be difficult, so, let’s take a look at how to set fitness goals and then look at some examples!

Be SMART!

All goals should be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timed).

Be specific when making goals. Specific goals help us decide what it is we truly want out of an experience, helping us to effectively concentrate our energy. They also help us to kick-start the process of forming a plan. So, how should you make specific goals? A fun way to determine if your goals are specific enough. Think of all those scenarios in kids’ books where a seemingly-kind genie tells the main character “I’ll grant you whatever wish you’d like”. With blind trust, the character wishes for something innocent only for the genie to twist the wish around, like some sort of Simpsonian doughnut gag. If your goal is vague enough for a genie make it into a diabolical alternative, it probably isn’t specific enough. If your goal was simply ‘lose weight’, a genie might interpret it as an invitation to remove something like the entirety of your skin (after all, you’d lose about 20 pounds if you got rid of it). Instead try something like ‘reduce body fat by 2% by going to a H.I.I.T. FIT class twice a week’. Change ‘get fit’ to ‘gain muscle by adding in a weight-lifting routine twice a week’ or ‘increase a miles’ run time by adding an extra mph each week of training’. Define what it is that you want so you can focus on actions that will further progress towards that one thing.

* A quick note on the specificity of your plans: have an detailed idea of what you want to do, but be willing to be flexible. Be understanding and forgiving towards yourself . You won’t always be able to follow a certain path towards your goals; sometimes you won’t be able to follow your goals at all – that’s OK! Remember, one off day (or even a couple) doesn’t mean that you won’t ever reach your goal. Just never give up!

Make your goals measurable in a quantifiable, reliable way. Say your goal was to ‘get better at running’. That might not be a very good goal unless there are some measurements to compliment it, like ‘improve running time’ (which can definitively be linked to a certain amount of minutes and mph).

Be realistic. Aim for the the stars, by all means, don’t push yourself past your limits. Don’t tell yourself that you’re going to run a 5k next month if you’ve never jogged before. Don’t tell yourself that you’re going to work out every single day if you’ve never worked out before. By setting ourselves up for goals that are so far beyond our current reach, we set ourselves up for disappointment. We might end up feeling like we’re a failure because we didn’t reach a far-fetched ideal even if we hit significant milestones. Ditch ‘all-or-nothing’ concepts and focus on your own personal growth. It’s also important to mention that trying to push yourself past where your body is can result in injury – we don’t want to throw our backs out, tear a muscle, or twist anything during our efforts. Goals can change, so, once we accomplish more at the level we’re at, we can reshape our goals for the next level.

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Give your goals a deadline. “Someday” is a phrase that is the enemy of mankind.

In addition, start now! If we say ‘tomorrow’ then we have to know that tomorrow is only the next ‘today’. There will never be a day that isn’t ‘today’. Don’t put off your dreams! Get started as soon as you can!

Acknowledge the hurdles

In the same way that setting overly-high standards can lead to disappointment, not thinking about the difficulties associated with a goal can lead to hurdles feeling more difficult when you come across them. Acknowledge that what you want to do might be sort of hard. After all, it’ll be something new and new stuff is always tricky at first. Plan around predicted struggles. If you’ll have to schedule a workout between two events in a day, pack a gym bag to ensure you have everything you need to get spiffed up ASAP. If you’re traveling and won’t have access to your normal space and equipment, try finding exercises that will meet your needs while staying within your limitations (like hotel room workouts).

Don’t underestimate the toughness of a workout, but know that you’ve got the power to pull through anything!

Examples of Goals

Train for an event. Working towards something like a 5k, mudrun, or any other competition is great because the goal is automatically specific and timed (and most likely realistic).

Start to commute on foot. Incorporate activity into your life by biking or walking to campus. Biking is an especially good way to get to class since, for most near-campus commutes, biking and driving take about the same amount of time. In addition, bus stops surrounding campus mean you don’t have to walk the entire way – just part of it!

Do something you couldn’t before. Maybe a full, non-knees push up isn’t within your current capabilities – set a goal to be able to do 10! Or, aim for a pull-up, a handstand, or holding a 3-point plank.

Make a new hobby. Try kayaking, hiking, surfing, soccer, tennis, or any other sport!

Getting a Beach-Bod A really common reason to get in shape during summer is to look your best for beachwear. Congrats! You’ve already got this one down pat! Your body is 100% ready for you to have a great time basking in the sun, splashing in the ocean, or whatever else fits your fancy. There’s no extra training or trimming required for you to go out and enjoy yourself – your body is already looking bomb as-is.

Don’t let physical fitness stop at the gym

Physical fitness is an extremely broad area. Taking care of our bones/heart/muscles isn’t the only part of physical fitness. So, don’t let efforts to improve your health stop at the gym. Try striving for other parts of physical fitness and set goals like ‘eat more nutritiously’, ‘stop smoking’, or ‘sleep more’. There’s a million and one things to try in order to facilitate your physical health – don’t be afraid to try them all!

Good luck, Eagles! We know you can do it!

– University Wellness

]]>https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/goals-to-get-fit/feed/0EYyhgsuwellness1c8d6bfa72cea7b61c7d5041aea44618EYyhWhat Kind of Career Do You Want?https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/06/what-kind-of-career-do-you-want/
https://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/2017/06/06/what-kind-of-career-do-you-want/#respondWed, 07 Jun 2017 00:49:12 +0000http://gsuwellness.wordpress.com/?p=4115]]>It’s college. Supposedly, we know what we want our careers to be… but what if we don’t?

Well, it certainly wouldn’t make any of us abnormal. 20-50% of college students start college as an undeclared major and almost 75% change their major at least once in their college career (source), so there’s certainly no shame in being unsure about your career.

We have to make the decision eventually, but how do we make it?

The Equation

This article suggest the formula G+P+V = C. That is, Gifts + Passions + Values = Career. What strengths do you have? What are issues that you care about/problems you’d like to solve? What are your values – do you value family? Adventure? Family? Mixing all of these might put you on the right path. Of course, this equation may not give you an exact job title or major, but it can provide a way to filter different job titles.

However, sometimes people feel like the jobs that perfectly fit those three categories aren’t realistic. Amita Patel urges people to not give up on the ideal and to visualize what a ‘too good to be true’ life would look like. What seems idealistic may not seem realistic, but Amita advises us to‘discover what you truly want and simply sit with it‘ rather than only thinking about our dreams as impossible. To read more of Amita’s article, click here.

Finding The Right Fit

So, now that we have a rough idea of what we want to do, how do we find a major/job that fits it? There are bunches of online quizzes that make job recommendations based on personality type, skill sets, and other personal preferences. All of these can present handy suggestions or help us realize what we don’t wanna do.

First off, the Myers Briggs test is a widely-know personality test that will present a general description of what your personality type is like and also a description of what kind of careers might go well with your personality type. You can take the quiz here in about 5-10 minutes. Once you’ve found out your personality type, just go to section ‘6’ to the career description.

Second, Sokanu tests your skills based on how well you perform in some brain games. Sokanu then mixes that with your work history, your ideal workplace, and your personality type to find a career that might be suitable to you.

Third, Career Services also offers a 2-credit hour class dedicated solely to exploration of careers and professional self-discovery – click the link to find out more!

Lastly, you can take this silly BuzzFeed quiz for completely inaccurate, but fun results.

Occupational Wellness

Your occupation is one of the many factors that influence our wellness. It can encompass anything you do as an occupation – whether that occupation is being a student, a part-timer, or a full-time employee – but it’s particularly important to keep in mind when thinking of a long-term career. The following is a list of things you should be able to experience while experiencing occupational wellness.

Grow professionally

Be challenged, inspired, and successful.

Garner satisfaction/enrichment from your career and the people it connects you with

Contribute positively, productively and safely to a collective whole

Balance work and leisure

Work with your personal learning style

We hope that everyone is able to live all the dreams and achieve all the goals possible. We’ll never stop believing in you!